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Gas Chromatography Maintenance & Troubleshooting

Important Principles for Effective Troubleshooting

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Why Choose Us

The Gas Chromatography Maintenance & Troubleshooting Course gives laboratory and instrumentation professionals a structured, practical approach to diagnosing and resolving the full range of GC operational problems — reducing downtime, improving analytical accuracy, and extending instrument life.

Gas chromatography systems are precision instruments where even minor faults can compromise data integrity, delay analysis, and disrupt laboratory operations. This course equips delegates with a systematic troubleshooting methodology — covering eight problem categories, chromatographic symptoms, detector faults, shutdown conditions, and hands-on troubleshooting tasks.

From baseline problems and peak shape issues to flow and pressure faults, detector malfunctions, and column shutdowns, every common GC failure mode is addressed directly. Delegates also learn how to prevent problems through proper consumable management and instrument self-checks.

This is a course built for professionals who need to keep GC systems running reliably and want the confidence to diagnose and fix problems quickly and safely.

 

Why Choose Gas Chromatography Maintenance & Troubleshooting
Course Goals

What are the Goals?

The Gas Chromatography Maintenance & Troubleshooting Course is designed to develop systematic, confident troubleshooting capability across all major GC system components — from chromatographic performance issues to detector, flow, and shutdown faults.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Apply safe and structured troubleshooting approaches across eight defined GC problem categories
  • Use appropriate troubleshooting tools and implement problem prevention strategies
  • Diagnose and resolve chromatographic symptoms including retention time, baseline, peak shape, and resolution problems
  • Identify and address column problems and contamination or carryover issues
  • Troubleshoot ALS, FID, NPD, TCD, and FPD detector problems systematically
  • Resolve power and communications faults affecting GC system performance
  • Diagnose and correct GC "Not Ready" and "Shutdown" conditions including flow, pressure, temperature, and valve problems
  • Manage column shutdown and hydrogen shutdown situations safely and effectively
  • Perform key practical tasks including external leak checks, column flow measurement, detector flow measurement, and GC self-checks
  • Determine when to change gas purifiers and manage consumable spares effectively

 

Who is this Training Course for?

The Gas Chromatography Maintenance & Troubleshooting Course is designed for laboratory, instrumentation, and technical professionals who operate, maintain, or support GC systems and need the skills to diagnose and resolve faults confidently and efficiently.

This course is suitable for:

  • Laboratory analysts and technicians who operate GC systems on a daily basis
  • Instrumentation engineers and technicians responsible for GC maintenance and performance
  • Laboratory managers overseeing analytical instrument reliability and uptime
  • Process engineers working with GC systems in refinery, petrochemical, or industrial environments
  • Quality control professionals dependent on GC analysis for product testing and compliance
  • Maintenance engineers supporting analytical laboratory equipment across industrial facilities
  • Technical support professionals who assist GC users with operational and fault resolution issues
  • Graduate scientists and engineers entering roles that involve routine GC operation and maintenance

 

Learning Approach

How will this Training Course be Presented?

The Gas Chromatography Maintenance & Troubleshooting Course is delivered through a highly practical, symptom-based learning approach. Rather than covering GC theory in isolation, the course is structured around real fault categories and the step-by-step process of diagnosing and resolving each one.

Delegates work through troubleshooting scenarios progressively — from common chromatographic symptoms through to detector faults, shutdown conditions, and hands-on practical tasks.

Delivery methods include:

  • Instructor-led sessions introducing troubleshooting frameworks, problem categories, and safety guidelines
  • Symptom-based diagnostic workshops working through chromatographic, detector, and system fault scenarios
  • Detector troubleshooting exercises covering FID, NPD, TCD, and FPD fault identification and resolution
  • Shutdown condition analysis addressing "Not Ready" and "Shutdown" scenarios including flow, pressure, temperature, and valve faults
  • Hands-on practical tasks including external leak checks, column and detector flow measurement, and GC self-checks
  • Problem prevention sessions covering consumable spare management, gas purifier replacement, and routine maintenance best practices
  • Case-based troubleshooting scenarios drawing on common real-world GC faults encountered in laboratory and industrial environments
  • Group discussion and knowledge sharing encouraging delegates to apply course learning to faults they have encountered in their own instruments

 

The Course Content

Effective Troubleshooting

  • Tips for Safe Troubleshooting
  • Common Troubleshooting Approaches
  • Eight Problem Categories
  • Troubleshooting Tools
  • Problem Prevention
  • Consumable spares

Chromatographic Symptoms

  • Retention time Problem
  • Baseline Problems
  • Contamination or carryover
  • Peak Shape Problems
  • Resolution Problem
  • Column Problems

ALS, Detector and Communications Symptoms

  • Syringe Problems
  • FID Problems
  • NPD Problems
  • TCD Problems
  • FPD Problems
  • Power and Communications Problems

GC "Not Ready" and "Shutdown" Symptoms

  • Flow/Pressure Problems
  • Temperature Problems
  • Detectors Problems
  • Valves Problems
  • Column Shutdown
  • Hydrogen Shutdown

Troubleshooting Tasks

  • External Leak Check
  • GC leaks
  • Measure a Column Flow
  • Measure a Detector Flow
  • GC Self check
  • When to Change Gas Purifiers
Recognition

Certificate

  • • AZTech Certificate of Completion for delegates who attend and complete the training course.
Collaborations

In Partnership With

Anderson Coventry

Frequently Asked Questions

Delegates learn a structured, systematic troubleshooting methodology built around eight defined problem categories. Rather than relying on trial and error, delegates leave with a repeatable diagnostic process — enabling them to identify the root cause of GC faults more quickly, resolve them more effectively, and prevent recurrence through better maintenance practices.  

A full day is dedicated to ALS, detector, and communications symptoms — covering FID, NPD, TCD, and FPD detector problems in detail. Delegates learn how to systematically identify detector faults, distinguish between symptom types, and apply the appropriate corrective action for each detector technology used in their laboratory or facility.  

Very practical. The final day is dedicated entirely to troubleshooting tasks — including external leak checks, GC leak identification, column flow measurement, detector flow measurement, GC self-checks, and gas purifier replacement decisions. Delegates perform these tasks in a structured learning environment, building the hands-on confidence they need to apply them directly on their instruments.  

Delegates will develop the ability to diagnose and resolve a comprehensive range of chromatographic symptoms — including retention time problems, baseline issues, contamination and carryover, peak shape problems, resolution issues, and column faults. These are the most commonly encountered performance problems in GC analysis, and resolving them directly improves data quality and instrument reliability.  

Day 4 covers the full range of GC "Not Ready" and "Shutdown" conditions — including flow and pressure problems, temperature faults, detector issues, valve problems, column shutdown, and hydrogen shutdown. Delegates learn how to diagnose each condition safely, understand its root cause, and restore the instrument to full operational status efficiently.  

By developing a structured diagnostic approach and building familiarity with the most common fault categories, delegates become significantly faster and more accurate at identifying and resolving GC problems. Combined with the problem prevention and consumable management skills covered in the course, this directly reduces unplanned downtime and the disruption it causes to analytical workflows.  

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